Why does nobody mention how many story prompts are really just therapy exercises?

I was scrolling through a writing psychology blog last night and found a list of '10 prompts for processing grief.' Then I realized I've seen almost the exact same prompts on here labeled as 'character backstory ideas.' Like number 4 was literally 'write about a moment you felt completely unseen.' I see that kind of thing posted as creative writing help all the time. It makes me wonder how many of us are accidentally working through our own stuff when we think we're just building fictional worlds. Has anyone else noticed this overlap or am I just reading too much into it?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenixp3010d ago

Wait isn't that basically journaling with extra steps?

the_terry10d ago

I hear you @phoenixp30 but I see it a little different. Yeah there's overlap but the intent matters. When I write a character losing a parent I'm not processing my own grief I'm trying to figure out how that specific person would react based on their history and personality. Take that prompt about feeling unseen. I used it to build a villain who was ignored by his family and that made him bitter. That's not therapy that's me asking what makes someone tick. The prompts are tools not diagnosis. You can use them to dig into yourself or to build someone else entirely.